Make This Right
by Misfit Writer
Summary: Bravo Team gets spun up again within hours of returning from Korea, and everyone is on edge. Doesn't help that Ash leaked another story and implicated his son as the source, and none of the team will give Clay the opportunity to talk about it...and by the time they realize what's wrong with their youngest teammate, it might be too late. *Set right after the FUBAR mission in Korea*
1. Chapter 1

"Figures that the cake-eaters are sending us out yet again, before we even get a chance to breathe," Ray muttered, eyes flicking over to Sonny as they all started packing their equipment.

Clay watched the team silently for a moment, feeling the weight of the world press down on his shoulders. A nagging voice in the back of his mind accused that this latest spin-up is on him...because his _father_ leaked more information about DEVGRU missions, and once again implied that he'd gotten it from his son. Since they'd found out - particularly since they'd gotten word immediately after of their new mission - Bravo had been short and biting with him. Trent and Brock hadn't spoken a word to him, Sonny hadn't really said much of substance to _anyone_ considering he'd only been released from the hospital three hours prior to getting called back, and Jason hadn't taken time to listen to him. The Team Leader had cut him short when Clay'd attempted to defend his innocence, telling him that they hadn't even gotten over Korea and didn't need to be dealing with another issue so soon.

Still, the youngest team member hated the idea of spinning up with this tension between them. "Hey, guys, I need to say something before we-"

"Unless it has to do with why the hell you didn't follow us to the infirmary after we got Sonny out of that God-forsaken torpedo tube, now is not the time, Spenser. Pack it up and let's go."

The sharp retort of his Master Chief startled him, Clay's back straightening instinctively and emotions sliding from his face. The entire team fell silent, their stares adding to the heaviness on the blonde's back.

"It's no big deal, boss-man, we know he was too busy talkin' to his daddy," Sonny joked, coming into Clay's cage to punch his shoulder as the rest of the team chuckled somewhat uneasily. The Texan might as well have punched him, full force, in the gut...he'd never thought the team was bothered that he'd lingered after Sonny had been cleared out. Shock and helplessness had left him unsteady as they'd carried his teammate away, and he'd needed a moment to gather himself and process the fact that they hadn't lost Sonny. The orange cap had become something of an anchor in the week since that hellish day; he'd honestly found himself grateful that Sonny had yet to ask for it, the reminder that his family, his _true_ family, was still intact.

And then his father had to ruin everything. Again. He was going to lose his team, whether emotionally or by his removal, because of that asshole, and there was clearly nothing he would be able to say or do to stop it.

* * *

Lisa Davis watched the exchange from the doorway, and recognized the gravity of the moment...the potential that it had to break Bravo Team. Clay was taking their words to heart, though she knew their reactions were borne of frustration towards the Brass for sending them out before Sonny could really recover from his traumatic incident and not towards Clay.

After Sonny's joke, the team fell back into tense silence and boarded the plane. Clay set up his hammock as far back in the plane as he could. Davis noticed a familiar orange baseball cap tucked in his back pocket as he settled down and fell asleep, an attempt to avoid his teammates she was sure.

"Sonny, Jase," Lisa called quietly once she was certain that he was actually sleeping. She gestured for them to join her near the straps.

"Hey Davis, what's up?" Sonny drawled. She hated how just his voice stirred emotions in her chest that they had yet to talk about - and wouldn't be able to until they got back from whatever hell this latest mission was sure to bring.

"Are you pissed at Spenser?" Sonny's face scrunched in confusion, and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Is this about what I said in the cages about the infirmary? I was pissed off about this whole fiasco, he was the easiest target to lash out at, kid knows not to take that shit to heart."

"Yeah well he did," Lisa snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "If any of you had bothered to pay attention to him, you might've noticed him completely shut down." The rest of the team started to gather, hearing the bite in her voice and realizing something was up. "Starting with your comment about him not following to the infirmary," she pointed at Jason first, then to Sonny. "And then he really withdrew when you made the comment about his father."

Sonny shook his head. "Nah, I was just jokin'..."

"His father leaks a story about one of our missions and implies that Clay was his source before Korea...and apparently another story while you were out, which I'm _sure_ he heard about as soon as you landed Stateside." Her gaze passed around the teammates, frustrated that none of them had picked up on their youngest teammate's distress. "He's probably wrecked about it, and was looking to his team for support. Instead he got accusations and snark about the very thing he's afraid people think he's guilty of."

"We all know Ash is an asshole," Ray insisted. "Just like we all know that Clay would _never_ betray us...he's not his father…"

Lisa huffed. _Men._ "Did anyone bother to let _Clay_ know those things? That you don't believe his father like everyone else seems to?" The lack of response was answer enough. "That kid has spent his _entire life_ in his father's shadow, has spent his entire military career fighting to make the name Spenser mean something positive, but his old man has gotten in the way every single time he's tried. But with this new book, and these interviews where Ash is implicating his own son? The first time was easy enough to write off, but the second time not so much…" She shook her head. "He is so used to people seeing the worst in him, seeing _his father_ in him, and when he tried to make sure his team didn't look at him like everyone else, you snapped at him and reinforced his belief. Great teamwork there, boys." She turned to walk away from them, but stopped and spun back to Jason and Sonny. "And as far as the infirmary shit is concerned, I wasn't there, but I can tell how shaken he was by what happened in that sub." She turned her eyes to Sonny, who looked devastated himself. "Even thinking his team has turned on him, he still holds on to your stupid _lucky hat. _I haven't seen him without it since you got home."

Sonny's flinch was somewhat satisfying. _Good_, _he needs to realize what's going on with that kid._ "I...I just assumed it'd gotten left behind on the sub." Lisa gestured towards the other end of the plane. Sonny turned and approached the blonde silently, clenching his jaw and sighing when he caught a glimpse of the hat in his brother's back pocket. He returned to the others with a fresh sense of dejection. "_Fuck_."

"You need to leave him be for now...but _make this right_," she growled, staring down each and every man around her. They all nodded solemnly, and dropped onto the bench seats silently, waiting for Spenser to wake up or for time to prepare for the mission. Lisa left them to their thoughts and settled in to get some sleep herself.


	2. Chapter 2

"Up and at 'em, boys. Seven mikes to jump time." Clay pushed himself up and out of his hammock, securing it deftly and gearing up in silence as the rest of the team did the same. He felt their tense glances, and found himself grateful for the fact that they needed to be focused in order to ensure they were ready for their HALO jump into Iran.

"Once everyone lands and gathers, we'll move around the mountain and will be in place to snatch the target just before dawn. Everyone clear?" Jason looked around to each of the team, and Clay dropped his gaze with a submissive nod just before the steady gaze landed on him. BRAVO took up formation at the back of the plane, and Clay found himself relieved to be at the back when memories of Brian's death flashed across his mind. Brock, with Cerberus secured to his chest, glanced over his shoulder at the blonde's shuddering breath; these damn things never seemed to get easier since he lost his friend, but now was not the time to show weakness.

Taking advantage of the fact that the wind would've muffled any voices as they dove, Clay let his body shift into autopilot, and his mind drift to what would happen after this mission ended. Maybe it would be better if I didn't even make it back, he thought morbidly, before Clay shut down that thought sharply. No matter his feelings, he would never jeopardize his teammates by letting himself get careless.

The landing was smooth, as Bravo tended to function, and parachutes were deftly stowed away before anyone made a sound. "Okay, Cerb is going to lead the way with the infrared cam, so Five you are going to take point. Bravo Two, Bravo Six, you will be maintaining cover on our flanks as we move. Three and Four, you'll be with me in the back. Understood?" The chorus of 'yessirs' didn't seem to satisfy Jason, and he turned to Clay. "Six, are we clear?"

"Aye, Master Chief." The unreadable expression in his team leader's eyes confused Clay, but he didn't have time to think on it as they had to move.

The team moved in silence for what felt to Clay like forever. Never before could he remember a mission feeling so long, so dragged out...it was as though he could feel every heartbeat drag out, feel every possible misstep that could be taken to bring on more frustration from his brothers. He found himself grateful for the need for focus on their mission keeping them from lashing out at him like they'd done in the cages.

Just as color started to break through the black of the night, Cerberus and Brock finally brought the team to a stop. "Six, get high, cover the exit," Jason ordered. Without waiting to hear the directions for the rest of the team Clay obeyed, ignoring further glares from his teammates. As he crept silently towards a nearby building, carefully clearing the room as he stepped inside, his mind drifted to the team he'd just walked away from. After losing Brian and Stella, and the non-existent relationship with his father, Bravo had been the only family Clay had left...but just like everything else he touched, that family was slipping through his fingers as well. He'd hoped that they, of anyone, would understand him, his position in all of the shit.

A strange sound behind him had Clay whipping around, and he spotted movement ahead of the team. "Bravo One, this is Bravo Six, you've got some unfriendlies coming your way, I'm not in position yet. I-"

In an attempt to get a clearer view - and shot - of the threats to his teammates, Clay failed to notice the hole in the floor behind him, and when he made to step back, only air met his foot. The weightlessness of freefall lasted longer than he remembered the last time he'd dropped through a hole in a floor, and this time his landing came with blinding pain in his right leg. Shuddering breaths helped to quell the immediate nausea from the agony, until the scent of blood hit his nose and the blonde couldn't repress the urge to vomit.

Once he finished heaving to his right side, Clay took a moment to look around to ensure he was at least secure...wherever the hell he landed. The lack of any formal structure led him to believe he'd fallen into some kind of sinkhole beneath the house. "Shit," he muttered to himself. His head throbbed and his back ached, but neither source of pain came even close to his leg. Shifting up to his elbows, Clay glanced down to see his pant leg torn open, revealing a sharp white shard of bone protruding through the skin. "Fantastic…" He keyed his radio. "Bravo One this is Six...I'm, uh...I'm stuck, fell through what's gotta be a sinkhole. Definitely went through more than just the basement...not gonna be able to get myself out...compound fracture to the right tibia."

He was silent for a moment, waiting for either a response, or the sounds of gunfire. "Bravo team, does anyone copy? You guys clear up there?" Still nothing. Shit. "Guessing by the continued lack of firefight, I'm going to assume...hope that my damn radio's just busted again and I can't hear you." The blonde gave it another moment. "Bravo? HAVOC? Anyone?" The continued lack of response left him frustrated and fidgety, so Clay pushed himself back up on his elbows and heaved himself backwards towards the wall behind him. What he wasn't expecting - hello, compound fucking fracture - was the fresh explosion of pain that hurled him into darkness.

* * *

"Bravo Six this is Bravo One, do you copy?" Jason ducked his head around the corner to be sure that their visitors had moved on, frustration warring with worry at the lack of response from their youngest teammate. "Damnit, Clay, answer me," he hissed.

"Now that the hostiles are clear of the area, someone needs to go after Six," Blackburn commanded in their ears. Jason nodded, and gestured for Sonny to do just that.

"Bravo Three is entering the building, will report back any findings. How is ISR looking, HAVOC?"

"Tango is still in place, no changes there. Exfil will get trickier the longer it takes to locate Six-"

"HAVOC this is Bravo Three, I've got Six, we've already cleared the area of hostiles, and if that changes I'll take up overwatch if sitrep changes with ISR. The rest of Bravo can take care of tango without me and if Six is in a pickle, they can come when they're done to help me get him out." With a nod of agreement, Bravo was in motion, and Sonny muttered under his breath: "Goldilocks, you'd better hope your ass is fine, cause if not I'm gonna kick it myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Awareness returned to Clay in the form of flickering light across his eyelids, which stopped as soon as he started to shift. The movement spiked agony in his leg again, bringing back memories of where he was and why he was in so much pain. The blonde groaned, rolling his head for a moment to ensure he still had proper movement.

"You just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you GQ?" Sonny's voice drifted down to him, and relief flooded Clay. Not only did Sonny's snark mean his brothers were safe, he'd been found. Getting him out, though...probably a different story.

"Just trying to keep things interesting…" His voice drifted off as he remembered the fact that his team believed that he'd sold them out to his father. "The others okay?"

"The hostiles you warned us about moved on without seeing us, thank you, and the rest of the team continued with the mission while I came for your sorry ass. So...what's the damage? Is that blood on your leg?"

"Yeah...compound fracture that...frankly is hurting a hell of a lot more than it did when I first fell," Clay replied, easing himself into a sitting position and trying to get a look at his injury without pulling on it.

"Probably adrenaline wearing off, gotta hurt like hell. Stop moving so much, you might make it worse. Let me give the team an update and make sure they don't need overwatch...don't go wanderin' off." Clay ha-ha'd and watched the Texan duck out of view.

Once he was alone, Clay returned his attention to the blood caked onto his pant leg. With slightly shaky fingers, he reached down to pull the fabric away from his skin, and stars burst in his vision at the first tug. "Oooooh fuckfuckfuckfuck, don't pass out, don't pass out…" Not trying that again until the team gets him the hell out of his hellhole.

"If you really were this bad-ass SEAL capable of erasing my steps, you would've seen all of this coming, you know."

Impossible. Not happening. I'm actually hallucinating...wonderful. Opening his eyes, Clay found his father sitting against the wall to his left, a smug grin on his face. "All of what, Ash?"

"The sabotage, the fact that your so-called brothers turned on you the second the news broke, hell, that damned hole in the floor. You think you are going to surpass me making bullshit mistakes like this? You're lucky you're not dead."

Clay rolled his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't be that lucky if I have to listen to you even when there is no possible way you're here…"

"Don't pretend that it matters whether or not I'm physically here, because even still I'm messing with your head, and that is what matters. Because regardless, you know it's all true. You're in this predicament right now because you weren't paying attention to your own damn feet. This team doesn't care about you the way you care about them...the way you need them."

Clay shook his head, fighting the rise of nausea that had nothing to do with his pain. "Yeah, maybe I made a careless mistake because I was too worried about my team...maybe it's got me fucked up that they don't trust that I wouldn't sell them out." He was silent for a long moment, breathing through the pain and grief. "Even if you cost me everything...even if I lose the career I love and the only true family I've ever had, because you are more worried about your fucking money and fame...I won't regret a second of my life as a SEAL. Because I got to learn what true SEALs look like...men who would die for one another, and men who would never jeopardize the integrity of their mission."

* * *

Jason Hayes could not identify a time when he'd wanted to strangle one Ash Spenser more than having to listen to his youngest teammate lament the perceived loss of his team and his career. Not if I have anything to say about it.

"Four, you need to hurry the hell up and get down here. There should be room for everyone, might end up needing everyone...but the kid definitely needs you ASAP, Trent. He's delusional...talking to me like I'm his father but eyes staring right through me."

"Shit," Bravo Four muttered in response, repelling down into the space next to the team leader. He tugged a glove off with his teeth and pressed the back of his hand to Clay's forehead, which didn't garner even the slightest response. "He's burning up…" The medic shifted down towards their injured teammate's leg, and the others carefully joined them in the tight space.

"I just don't understand why, Dad...what did I do to make you want to ruin me?"

The question tore out Jason's heart, made him imagine his own children asking something so vulnerable. With a growl, he grabbed Clay's face with both hands and leaned in close. "Listen to me, Spenser...listen to my voice. Ash isn't here. Bravo is here...your brothers are here. Do you understand me, kid? Clay, look at me!" Slowly, pained blue eyes focused on him, and Jason felt a glimmer of hope as Sonny and Brock landed. "That's it, there he is...we're not abandoning you, Clay. We've got your six, brother...out here and whatever it takes to get this bullshit with your father out of the way once we get home." He looked up at Trent, whose face had gone pale and grim. "This is going to hurt like hell, but the team is all here, and we're going to get you home. Do you understand me?" Clay slowly nodded, tears filling his eyes as reality seemed to finally sink back in.

"I've gotta pull the fabric away from his leg, and it's not gonna be pretty. This'll be safer for all of us if you each take a limb and hold him steady. If it's a compound fracture, I'm going to have to set and splint it before we can move him," Trent explained. "Not liking the idea of giving him morphine with the hallucinations." The team deftly positioned themselves around their fallen brother, Sonny and Jason each bracing a shoulder while Brock took his uninjured leg and Ray offered the strap of his gun to Clay.

"Can't help with the pain, brother, but this'll help protect your teeth. Open up…" The blonde obeyed with a shaky breath, and bit down once it was in place.

Pained eyes turned to the team leader once more, and Jason couldn't be sure if he was seeing Bravo One or his father again. "We've got you, Spense. You don't need to be strong right now, let us take over from here brother."

Clay watched him silently for a moment, breathing heavily through his nose, gaze seeming to pass in and out of focus, before he closed his eyes and dropped his head back onto Ray's knees. He reached up to wrap his fingers around Sonny's and Jason's wrists. Bravo One clenched his jaw, sympathetic to his teammate's impending agony, and nodded to Trent.

"I'm sorry, kid…" With quick and sure hands, the medic tore away the pant leg and yanked firmly on the bone, the resulting snap and barely-muffled scream sending Jason's stomach rolling. The wounded man arched against the rest of the team, and Ray leaned over him murmuring a soft prayer. "Splint kit," Trent called. Sonny handed over the requested supplies with one hand, maintaining pressure on Clay's shoulder with the other. "I think the hallucination came from infection...where the bone broke through the skin is a mess; that combined with the fever..." He didn't need to say anything further.

"Okay, then we need to get Goldilocks the hell outta Dodge and to a place that can give him the good drugs, so let's get moving shall we?" Sonny demanded, squeezing Clay's shoulder in a feeble attempt to comfort.


	4. Chapter 4

The low hum and subtle sway of the plane nearly lulled Clay back into unconsciousness before he even managed to wake up, but memories of their disaster of a mission resurfaced without the explanation of how he ended up on the C-130. The blonde took a moment to gauge his pain, and noticed a pinch at the crook of his elbow. Glancing down he saw an IV needle taped in place, and he looked up to see that he was getting a pretty potent antibiotic.

"You were right about the compound fracture...and wound up with a pretty serious infection that had you delusional." Jason's voice at his right drew his attention, and Clay watched him lean forward, face serious. "Do you remember any of that?"

It took a moment, but cutting words by his father came to mind. Clay winced at the memory and the thought that his leader saw him in such a state. "Yeah, pretty sure my father wasn't _actually _down in that hole with me."

"Do you remember the conversation you had with him?"

"I remember enough; telling him that no matter how much I screwed things up for myself, I don't regret any of it." He dropped his gaze down to his hands, picking lightly at the tape on his IV needle. "Even if it's over once we hit American soil. Other than 'talking' to Ash, nothing til just now."

Jason's hand stilled the younger man's fidgeting, and blue eyes turned back up, uneasiness settling into the pit of his stomach. "Listen to me, Spenser...apparently one of the things you don't remember is me telling you that we never doubted your loyalty for a second, and that we will never abandon you."

"Gotta say, Goldilocks, it kinda hurts my feelings that you think so little of us that you'd consider we would believe Ash's implications," Sonny added as he settled down next to their leader. "Whatever comes of that bull when we get back, we'll be facing it like we do everything else: as a team. You're stuck with us for better or worse, brother, even when we act like a bunch of asshats before a spinup." Sonny held a hand out to Clay, and only grinned when the younger man took it with a firm squeeze.

"Boys, I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but shit is hitting the fan with Ashland Spenser back home," Blackburn murmured. He came to a stop at the head of Clay's cot, and settled a hand on his shoulder. "He just came out with an interview about a last-minute addition to his book...about the near-international incident with North Korea."

"Of-fucking-course he did," Sonny growled, shoving to his feet and pacing away.

"We were only home a few days before spinning up again…" Jason started, looking to Clay who was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's not like they've got any proof that I met up with him, I stopped taking his calls before we even left for Korea."

"Any way to prove that you _didn't_?" Blackburn offered, voice hopeful.

Clay shook his head without looking up. "Other than the fact that I didn't answer his calls? No. There's no way to prove that he didn't come to my apartment or anything like that. How bad, boss?"

Blackburn sighed before responding. "Court martial once you are discharged from the hospital." Clay dropped his hand to his side and stared at the ceiling. "We've got Support on finding any shred of evidence that we can to prove that you aren't the one who leaked the information...and Davis and Mandy are already hunting down whoever the hell actually _did_."

Finally turning his gaze to his Commander, Clay gave a weak smile. "Thank you, sir. I'll, uh...I'll do whatever I can to help, what little it will probably be. Whatever access you need from me, phone, apartment...just say the word. I've got nothing to hide...I swear that I would never betray this team or the security of our country."

Blackburn grinned at him with somewhat false bravado. "I know, Spenser. We've got your six, brother. You need to focus on healing right now, let us take care of the asshole otherwise known as your father." Clay nodded shortly, eyes skittering along the rest of the team, who all stood around him in solidarity.

* * *

Clay picked anxiously at the rubber cushioning of his crutch, awaiting the call for him to enter the courtroom that held his future. The team had kept him out of the loop of whatever they'd been doing to prove his innocence, and as much as he trusted each and every one of them with his life, their absence five minutes before his scheduled hearing had him afraid that he wouldn't get to see them again...likely to be hauled off to the brig without any evidence to support him.

"Petty Officer Spenser." Clay looked up to see the JAG lawyer waiting for him, and eased himself up on his good leg. The crutches were somewhat awkward under his dress blues, but he did the best that he could to look stoic and formal.

"Hold the door please, Lieutenant...I have some information you and the judge need to see regarding the _true_ informant." Blackburn's voice had Clay turning so fast he nearly lost his balance. Sonny's steadying hand kept him upright, and the rest of Bravo came around him once again. The confidence in their eyes told him all that he needed to know…

His team had saved his life yet again.


End file.
